1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

#1022- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen
Directed by: Peter Jackson


Plot Summary: The quest for the Ring will come to an end as Frodo and Sam get closer to Mordor. Their friendship will be tested, however, as a treacherous Gollum plans to turn Frodo against Sam and lead Frodo into a trap in order to get the Ring back. Meanwhile, Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor, must accept his destiny and assume his true role, as king. Help comes to Frodo and Sam in the form of Aragorn and company, who plan to fight Sauron's forces in order to buy the hobbits more time to get to Mount Doom and destroy the Ring.


After sitting through The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, with a combined total of 6 hours, moviegoers were hoping that The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King would not disappoint as a conclusion to the trilogy. How did it do? Well, it won an Academy Award in EVERY category it was nominated for and holds the record for largest number of wins in an Oscar sweep, with 11. With a track record like that, many would probably consider it the best movie in the trilogy. I appreciate the entire trilogy so it is hard for me to say one stands out above the other two, but rather consider these three films come together as one gigantic movie. But I will say that The Return of the King is a very satisfying conclusion to The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Aragorn, played by Viggo Mortensen, is the titular character of The Return of the King. Mortensen has a difficult task of playing a version of Aragorn that fans of the books are not familiar with. Peter Jackson wrote this Aragorn with an internal conflict to make him a more interesting character with an actual story arc. Aragorn's conflict is that he is afraid to become the king of Gondor because of the mistake of his ancestor. The Return of the King is where Aragorn must accept his destiny and take a commanding role as a leader in battle. I've always felt that Aragorn was one of the best characters to watch in the action scenes because I love good sword choreography. Aragorn has always been one of my favorite characters in The Lord of the Rings because of his skills in battle, his leadership, and his wise demeanor, qualities that are very befitting of a great king.

Despite being the main character, Frodo is not the character with the most growth by the end of the films. His companion Sam, played by Sean Astin, starts the trilogy as Frodo's gardener, who lives a very safe and cautious lifestyle. As the journey progresses, so does Sam's courage and his friendship with Frodo. Astin is able to portray Sam as the most human of the characters, making him the character audiences could relate to the most. A theme in The Lord of the Rings concerning the hobbits is that they can do extraordinary things, despite their size. I feel that theme is present with all the hobbits, but is strongest with Sam, who represents an ordinary man, but is capable of doing extraordinary things. He's not the best fighter, nor is he the strongest physically, but Sam has the biggest heart and knows what he must do, and that is what makes Sam the most relatable, and my favorite character in The Lord of the Rings.

Sam isn't the only hobbit with massive character development in The Return of the King. Merry and Pippin, played by Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd respectively, start out the trilogy as an inseparable comic relief duo. By The Return of the King, they find themselves split up, Merry staying with Rohan and Pippin going with Gandalf to Minas Tirith. It is here where their true heroic qualities are formed. Merry is a little more brave than Pippin and wants to fight, but he is told he cannot because of his size, which makes Merry more determined to prove them wrong. Pippin feels more caught up in battle and does not want to be in a battle, but when he does fight, he proves to be a noble fighter. The Return of the King is great for Merry and Pippin because it gives the characters an extra layer to their depth, instead of just making them comedic.

The Return of the King does a great job of surpassing the other two movies in its grand scale of visuals. The scenery and battle sequences are created to look so epic, that Jackson and company needed to adapt new forms of technology in their special effects department. When you watch it on the big screen, you're blown away and go "Wow. How did they make that?" When you get the DVDs and see how they were able to make one shot of the final film, you are still left blown away by the time and effort put into making the shot. I look at the different stages that were needed to make just one shot of a film, then compare it to the final product, and I'm left in amazement of how they were able to create it through special effects and still make it look like it was real. I'm a big special features fan on DVDs, and I feel the bonus features on the Extended Cut of The Return of the King add to the epic scale of the movie by going as in depth as they can to show us how they made the movie.

Director Peter Jackson's involvement in the trilogy should also be observed. A fan of Tolkien's work growing up, Jackson patiently waited for the day when someone would adapt The Lord of the Rings to film. Fate would have it that HE would be the one responsible for making the film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. What makes his involvement great is that he is not only observing it as a filmmaker, but also as a moviegoer and as a fan of the books. Peter Jackson made sure to observe the work of every aspect of the film, including acting, special effects, music, editing and much more, to make sure the film was cohesive in all areas to the vision he had for Middle-earth. Many of the crew members said that Jackson's approach to making the trilogy was one of the most difficult efforts that no director should try when making a film, but his efforts paid off as he is responsible for creating arguably the greatest motion picture trilogy of all time.


Rating:  5 out of 5 stars.

If you've made it through the first two, there is no reason to skip the third. The Return of the King brings the journey to an end that should be very satisfying for moviegoers. I recommend seeing and owning the concluding chapter in the trilogy, making The Lord of the Rings the first film series I would fully recommend to all fans of film.

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1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

#1021- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen
Directed by: Peter Jackson


Plot Summary: The quest for the Ring continues as Frodo and Sam find themselves on the road to Mordor, accompanied by a new guide, Gollum, a previous owner of the Ring who is looking to get it back. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are hunting a group of Uruk-hai, who captured their companions, Merry and Pippin. On their journey, Aragorn and company travel to Edoras, where they must defend Rohan in their war against Saruman's forces, culminating with an epic battle at Helm's Deep.


When making a trilogy, one of the most difficult parts is making the second film, especially if your trilogy follows an ongoing storyline. With your first film, you are able to introduce the story and characters that you'll see for the remainder of the series, and with the final film, you are able to bring everything to a close. But when it comes to a second film, you have to find a way to bridge a gap between the beginning and ending of a film series, while still making your film stand on its own in the series. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is considered a great film, but is also regarded as the least favorite film in the trilogy. But I would argue that the film still has a lot of moments that help it measure up and considered to be just as good as the other two films.

While he was briefly seen in The Fellowship of the Ring, Gollum, played by Andy Serkis, is left in the shadows and you can only hear him speak. In The Two Towers, Gollum is not only shown on screen, but is a fully developed character. The filmmakers incorporated many different techniques to create Gollum, which come together to form a character that I at times forgot was computer generated, which would logically make him the greatest computer generated character of all time. There are scenes where Serkis has to portray two different versions of the character, Gollum, the alter ego that was created through the Ring's power, and Sméagol, the hobbit that he used to be before finding the Ring. Through his emotions and motivations, Gollum is a character that, whether you despised him or pitied him, you had an opinion about him, acknowledging that he is the character that steals the show.

The title of The Two Towers is widely debated among Tolkien enthusiasts, but in the context of the film, it stands for the union of the two main villains, Sauron and Saruman. Saruman, played by Christopher Lee, serves as the main antagonist for The Two Towers. Lee, a major Tolkien enthusiast, plays the role with a full knowledge of what he needs to do in order to give the character justice on-screen. Saruman is an interesting character because he is wizard, like Gandalf, who turned to the dark power and is a servant to Sauron. He serves as a character that is both similar and different from Gandalf, and foreshadows what Gandalf would be like if he were to fall to the Ring's power. Saruman's power is at full force in the film as he plans to take over Rohan with an army of Uruk-hai soldiers. Saruman also has a spy, Grima Wormtongue, played by Brad Dourif, who tries to corrupt Rohan from the inside. Saruman's forces help supply the film with a presence of great evil, that Saruman is pulling the strings on all the evil that is surrounding our heroes in the film.

One of the main factors the filmmakers thought would lure women to see the film is a love triangle that originates in The Two Towers. The Fellowship of the Ring establishes the relationship between the Elven Princess Arwen, played by Liv Tyler, and Aragorn, played by Viggo Mortensen, with the major conflict being that Arwen is an immortal elf and Aragorn is a mortal man. When Aragorn travels to Edoras, he meets the king's niece, Éwoyn, played by Miranda Otto, who takes a liking to Aragorn. When looking at both romances, it's up to the audience to decide which one they side with. Personally, I felt that the relationship between Aragorn and Éwoyn was more developed. The audience is able to see their relationship progress naturally in The Two Towers, whereas Aragorn's relationship with Arwen is more implied and already established with context when you are introduced to them in The Fellowship of the Ring. 

The members of the Fellowship have more time in The Two Towers to get proper development and character growth, two in particular being Legolas, played by Orlando Bloom, and Gimli, played by John Rhys-Davies. Legolas and Gimli offer a dynamic in multiple ways. The first is that they are representation of the different races in Middle-earth, Legolas being an elf and Gimli being a dwarf, as well as a theme of racism in Middle-earth, with Elves and Dwarves not getting along and Legolas and Gimli's growing friendship breaking that tradition. They also offer a dynamic in their trio, also consisting of Aragorn, with Legolas doing a lot more of the stunt action, and Gimli providing more comic relief. While the two don't get the deepest of character development in the film, The Two Towers does give Legolas and Gimli more screen time for the audience to know these characters and be invested in what happens to them.

A big highlight of The Two Towers is ending the movie with one of the greatest film battles of all time, The Battle of Helm's Deep. The film does a great job of building up anticipation for the battle as it is stressed that 10,000 Uruk-hai soldiers are making their way to battle Rohan, who do not have nearly enough forces to combat evenly with Saruman's forces. Aside from the amazing fighting choreography, the battle has an incredible mood that is set through lighting. The battle takes place during a nightly rainstorm, giving the battle a bluish tone in lighting and having the rain set a mood of despair. There are numerous stages of the battle and is able to flow at a reasonable pace, while also being able to take over most of the screen time in the final hour of the film. The battle scene is executed to the point where it has plenty of action, does not drag, and serves as a suspenseful climax for the second installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.


Rating:  5 out of 5 stars.

Many have looked at The Two Towers as the weakest entry in the series, but I think it's still a great film that serves as character and plot development, while also having moments like Gollum and the Battle of Helm's Deep to help the film stand out. An easy recommendation for seeing and owning the bridging film of the trilogy.

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1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

#1020- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen
Directed by: Peter Jackson


Plot Summary: In the lands of Middle-earth, Frodo Baggins discovers a ring that is more powerful than he could imagine. It is the One Ring, made by the Dark Lord, Sauron, who has returned to Middle-earth and is looking for the Ring so he can cover Middle-earth in darkness. With the help of the wizard, Gandalf the Grey, Frodo embarks with his hobbit companions to the Elven city of Rivendell. There, Frodo joins a fellowship of nine who set out on a journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom.


The Lord of the Rings is a true essence of my childhood nostalgia. I was 8 when The Fellowship of the Ring came out and I was blown away by it. Never before had I seen an adventure of this magnitude told on-screen. It's been over a decade now and my appreciation for the trilogy grows deeper with each repeated viewing. Through DVD documentaries, extended cuts of the films, and reading J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, I am supplied with the resources that a true fan of the story and a true fan of filmmaking would need in order to appreciate this film franchise. With so much to say about all three movies, I decided to pick different elements to focus on in all three reviews in order to make each review stand out and avoid feeling repetitious. The Fellowship of the Ring serves as a film that not only gets the trilogy started, but also as a film that introduces newer audiences to the world Tolkien created in his books over 50 years ago, like it did with me.

Frodo Baggins, played by Elijah Wood, is the ring bearer who must journey to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. As the main character, Frodo is the used as the first person point of view for the audience, especially in The Fellowship of the Ring.  Wood is able to play Frodo with a type of innocence that feels genuine and captures the easygoing nature of the hobbits. Some Tolkien enthusiasts have complained that Frodo is not as adventurous in the film as he is in the books, but I have no problems with this. I feel Frodo's journey in the films, as well as his character development, has more impact when we can actually see that the Ring has an effect on Frodo. I don't think the other members of the Fellowship would be able to stand out in action scenes if the main character is able to keep up with them. Frodo's main objective is to carry the Ring and the Fellowship is there to protect him.

Gandalf the Grey, played by Sir Ian McKellen, is a wizard who serves as the guide for the Fellowship. Gandalf is introduced by arriving in the Shire, and the effect his presence has on the Shire lets the audience know that Gandalf is a legendary figure in Middle-earth. McKellen plays Gandalf with a deep appreciation of what Tolkien envisioned for the character, including trying to sound like Tolkien when giving Gandalf his voice. Gandalf the Grey is also a well-rounded character, and not just a wizard stereotype. While he does have the look of a wizard, I notice that Gandalf's magic is not overused or even an obvious brand of magic. Gandalf never abuses his magic and only uses it in times when it is necessary. I actually think Gandalf's biggest strength is in wisdom and knowledge of Middle-earth, which McKellen is able to capture while also giving him a warm and classy demeanor that allows the character of Gandalf to come alive on-screen.

The rest of the members of the Fellowship are not really developed in The Fellowship of the Ring, but are more or less introduced to us so we can follow their journey in the next two films, with the exception of Boromir, played by Sean Bean. Boromir is one of the true standout characters in the first installment and I credit it to Sean Bean's excellent portrayal of the character. In fact, seeing him on Game of Thrones makes me realize that Sean Bean is best in roles where he plays a chivalrous knight-like character. Boromir is chivalrous to a point, but is also very flawed. Amongst the Fellowship, he is the one who is corrupted by the Ring's power, making him a threat for everyone in the group. But through his antagonistic actions, Bean is still able to make Boromir likable, a difficult task for any character, through his motivations for why he is on the quest and why he would like to have the Ring, to protect his people. Because Boromir has justified reasons for his actions, the audience is able to feel remorse when the One Ring is able to take control of this noble warrior.

The film as an absolute cinematic spectacular to behold, and part of that is thanks to the amazing filming location of New Zealand. Director Peter Jackson knew that if he wanted to create Middle-earth properly, he would have to film it in an environment that seemed the most preserved and natural. New Zealand is full of green farmlands, snowy mountains and lush forest to create numerous realms of land in Middle-earth. Jackson also uses newer technology to enhance the scenery and make it feel like it is actually Middle-earth, instead of New Zealand. Among his methods, he used digital color grading to give each realm a color filter to enhance the area, such as greens used specifically for the Shire, as well as shooting at different locations and piecing them together in the final cut of the film to create a unique environment that you could not trace back to a specific New Zealand location.

Jackson wanted to create the best music for the films, and he is able to do so through the use of Howard Shore and his orchestra. Shore is able to create the perfect type of music for the film, used to not only heighten the right moment on film, but to also create the perfect emotional response from the crowd. The music is at its finest when it accompanies a panning shot of the beautiful scenery. The music is able to give each setting and character a unique sound of its own. You can hear music used in the Shire and say "That's the right kind of sound I'd envision when picturing the Shire." Howard Shore is able to create, in my opinion, the greatest movie soundtrack of all time, while also being able to create music to accompany the true spirit of Tolkien's masterpiece adapted on film.


Rating:  5 out of 5 stars.

Of the three movies, The Fellowship of the Ring is my personal favorite because it is a movie that serves as a part of my childhood nostalgia by introducing me to the world of The Lord of the Rings. An easy recommendation to see and own the first part of this epic trilogy.

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1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Jurassic Park

#901- Jurassic Park (1993)
Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum
Directed by: Steven Spielberg


Plot Summary: Jurassic Park is billionaire John Hammond's newest business investment, a theme park on a remote island where living, breathing dinosaurs are on display. Before the park can be opened, Hammond needs to prove that the park is safe and invites experts Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Sattler and Dr. Ian Malcolm on a tour of the park. Their tour turns deadly, however, as the dinosaurs begin to run around freely. Now it is up to Dr. Grant and the others to find a way to escape from Jurassic Park.


One of the most talked about movies in the '90s was Jurassic Park. I think it made an impact because of two main reasons: dinosaurs and Steven Spielberg. Through the use of visual effects, Spielberg was able to create an environment that captivated an audience and made Jurassic Park one of the biggest blockbusters of all time. But until about a year ago, I had never seen it before. While I was familiar with what the film was about, I still had never sat down and watched it all the way through. I felt I didn't have to because almost everyone I knew had seen it and was entertained by it, so I felt like I knew everything about it that I needed to know. It wasn't until its 3D re-release was announced that I felt it was actually time to watch it and see if it's a film that holds up 20 years later or if it is pure '90s nostalgia that keeps the movie in pop culture.

A key aspect when trying to see if a film holds up is by looking at its main characters. Dr. Alan Grant, played by Sam Neill, is the dinosaur expert that Hammond acquires to certify his park. His popularity only relies on the fact that he knows his facts about dinosaurs but, beyond that, he isn't a very interesting character. The only real relationship he has with the other characters worth mentioning is with his girlfriend Dr. Ellie Sattler, played by Laura Dern, and even that has very little depth to it. Half the movie the audience and other characters wonder if they are actually dating, and their biggest conflict is that Sattler wants kids and Grant does not. It's a conflict like that seems very fitting of a Spielberg film with the right amount of corny whimsy. As a main character, Dr. Grant has his moments but, for me, I expected him to have a little more depth than what is presented on film.

Dr. Ian Malcolm, played by Jeff Goldblum, helps supply the film with a '90s style of attitude, which in turn, helps supply the comic relief. Jurassic Park came out at a time when Jeff Goldblum was very popular actor, and it was after Jurassic Park that he became a walking stereotype of his own acting career. What I think Goldblum is able to do is give a natural response to the film's events, speaking in a way that any viewer would be able to say "I'd probably be acting the same way if a giant T-Rex was chasing me." He is arguably the film's most popular character for a reason. His fast-talking brand of witty dialogue can sound a bit cheesy, but I think it helps give Malcolm a natural charisma in the film that only Jeff Goldblum's style of acting and line delivery could give the character.

My biggest problem with the film is John Hammond, played by Richard Attenborough. While Hammond can have some redeeming qualities, such as developing the park to make others happy, his biggest flaw is that he comes off as incompetent and stubborn. He doesn't listen to anybody who tries to tell him that the park could be a bad, but instead, ignores them and assures them that the park will not have any problems. Hammond's biggest flaw is that he is sure that money will solve the problems in the park. He believes that the park can have no issues because he is able to afford the best experts to help him create it. While he does learn something by the end of the film, his naive nature can come off as annoying because the other characters and the audience can see his mistakes coming from a mile away.

The main human characters are just bait to reel in the audience before introducing the REAL stars of the film, the dinosaurs. Through the use of CGI and animatronics, Spielberg was able to create dinosaurs that blended in well with the environment, almost as if you could believe that dinosaurs were really there. I'm not sure if Spielberg thought the main characters did not need to be properly developed because he felt that the dinosaurs would be the selling point of the film, but that's what the movie feels like to me once the dinosaurs are introduced. The T-Rex is what supplies the film with its most memorable scenes, from its ominous arrival on screen, to chasing down our main characters, the T-Rex is what saved Jurassic Park from falling flat and made it big hit that is still remembered to this day.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Jurassic Park is still able to garner attention at the box office 20 years later, thanks to its 3D re-release. Everyone should see this film at least once for its groundbreaking visual effects and for becoming a pop culture phenomenon of the '90s.
 
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